The Flash S4 Recap: Episodes 1-3

Warning: SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED.

Hey everyone! As I said previously, I'll be dividing and conquering the shows that I watch, and this week, we're talking everything The Flash. Also, a personal sidenote that you all probably don't care about, but I will waste your time talking about anyway: this blog's one year anniversary was this past Sunday! Looking back, I've grown a lot over the past the year, as a person and my taste in shows. My very first review was of a show I no longer watch - no regrets about that, honestly - and my review style has changed tremendously. However, the salt remains. Let's get into it!


When we last left off, Barry was sacrificing himself and a domestic life with Iris to take Jay Garrick's place in the Speedforce. (I was going to write a recap of that finale, but life happened.) Team Flash must adjust to life without Barry, the supposed heart and soul of the team. I say supposed because I don't really believe that. Flash fans who worship Barry Allen's butthole may plug their ears in and deny, deny, deny, but I haven't forgotten about Barry's horrible actions in the beginning of season 3. Mostly, I wanted Barry to return because Queen Iris is heartbroken and sad without him, and I never want to see my favorite characters upset. (I actually like Westallen despite my problems with the ship, but we'll get to that later.) During his absence, Iris takes charge of the team like the fierce badass she is, seamlessly filling in Barry's shoes to the point where her intuition is better than her fiance's. Her different approach to helping Central City provides a fresh, unique perspective to the show, and I really enjoyed it. Barry who?

Alas, we can't have The Flash without its titular character; combined with the threat of Central City's destruction from a mysterious samurai robot and Iris' encouragement, Barry comes speeding back out of the Speedforce, ready to save the day yet again. Plot twist, though - his return to the real world unleashes yet another wave of dark matter, which just so happens to hit a bus load of people and turn all the riders into new metahumans. The team's new goal is to track down all the metas before they can cause any harm. Honestly, the fact that Barry's actions have directly caused the conflicts of two seasons now is hilarious. Flash fans who won't shut up about Oliver's bad choices can take a seat.

So far, two of the twelve metas have been revealed - Deacon and Becky, who can hack into and manipulate any piece of technology and give people bad luck, respectively. Both target Team Flash's weaknesses effectively, as one manages to gain full control of Barry's upgraded, tech-filled Flash suit, courtesy of Cisco's good intentions, and the other causes everything at Star Labs to conveniently stop working at the same time. Sidenote: I get that Becky causes bad luck, but bad luck is more like....accidentally spilling a latte on your new pantsuit, not a malfunctioning set of pipes or even a plane engine, which are actively life-threatening situations. Anyways, they're all being watched over by the big bad of the season, the Thinker. Though he may be old, wrinkly, ugly and white, let's all exhale a sigh of relief that at least it's not another boring cookie cutter speedster villain. He's smarter than everyone around him, and Team Flash has no idea - yet.

But the metas of the week are never what I really focus on, so here we are coming full circle back to the good guys themselves. Although Barry has finally returned, that doesn't mean the gaps he left in the team's lives can automatically be erased. Iris in particular has been taking it hard, and realizing that their dynamic has changed in the last six months, suggests couple's therapy. It's awkward and weird, culminating in Iris finally letting her feelings out in an explosion of grief, hurt and anger. I've said repeatedly in the past that though I can appreciate Westallen's chemistry and Barry's obvious adoring devotion to Iris, the problem with most of their relationship is that Iris never gets to go off whenever Barry does something stupid. (Barry calling him and Iris the gold standard was therefore very forced and ugly, especially when Olicity exists. In comparison, Arrow's leading couple had a much healthier buildup, where it's clear that Oliver and Felicity stand on equal footing.) So while her anger was a step in the right direction, I'd have much rather seen her call him out for his erasure of Sara Diggle and Dante Ramon rather than the one thing Barry couldn't really control. Nevertheless, necessary healthy communication occurred, and I am very excited for their crossover wedding with Oliver and Felicity. I hope to see Iris taking charge and disagreeing with Barry more, now that they're working together. And speaking of work, shame on the Flash writers for discontinuing Iris' journalism career storyline. Let her do her life's passion, people!

Romance is clearly in the air this season; aside from the leading ship, Cisco and Gypsy Cynthia are getting closer, as well as Joe and Cecile. Cisco is too busy trying to save the day to go on a date with Cynthia during Earth 2's 111 Day (the equivalent of our Valentine's Day. Also, what a lucky coincidence that the name is vaguely related to binary code, which helps Team Flash defeat Deacon), but realizes he can - and should!- sometimes prioritize his loved ones over Central City's wellbeing. I love them together, and would die for Cisco's happiness. Meanwhile, Cecile drops a major bomb on Joe - she's pregnant! Iris and Wally are going to have a new half-sibling, and that's wild. While Joe and Cecile are a cute pairing, I still haven't fully forgiven Joe for being the president of the Barry-Allen-is-a-God-who-can-do-no-wrong club, and insulting Oliver in the process. Honestly, I feel like he loves Barry more than his biological children sometimes, and that's just messed up.

Not everyone is so lucky, though; Jesse doesn't think she can do a long distance relationship with Wally while still trying to discover herself, leaving Wally heartbroken and in need of doing some soul searching himself. Wally has been underutilized and underappreciated from the start, and I need him to come back ASAP. He's the Flash we deserved, and it's discouraging to see how Barry's white savior methods are praised while Wally is shoved to the background.

Nevertheless, it's clear to see the writers are trying to improve upon the problematic elements of previous seasons. The three episodes that have aired so far have, for the most part, been fast-paced, interesting, and better written than before. Iris gets more screentime, the team dynamic has improved, and though it's still a little claustrophobic, it's tolerable. If the quality continues to hold steady or even possibly improve to season 1 levels, The Flash will have regained a fan.

See you next week for my recap of Arrow! So excited!

Extras that didn't make it in:

• Caitlin's struggling to maintain the Caitlin part of her personality instead of succumbing to Killer Frost. Personally, I stopped caring about her in season 2, because she just became boring to me, and she definitely has had some of the worst storylines. However, I find it hypocritical that Westallen fans can criticize her poor decisions in season 3 while continuing to blindly praise Barry only because he's with Iris. It feels like misogyny. There, I said it.